<h2>Alien Life</h2>
<p>Avi Loeb, the chair of the Harvard Astronomy Department, has long been preoccupied with the question of whether humans are alone in the universe. He&#8217;s <a href="https://futurism.com/harvard-scientists-say-fast-radio-bursts-could-be-evidence-of-alien-life">speculated that fast radio bursts</a> could be messages from extraterrestrials, <a href="https://futurism.com/galactic-internet-contact-other-planets-300000-years">theorized about alien megastrucutres</a>, and <a href="https://futurism.com/astronomers-gearing-listen-evidence-aliens-mysterious-interstellar-object">suggested that an interstellar object</a> that cruised through our solar system could be a probe from another civilization.</p>
<p>Now, in a <a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/astronomer-avi-loeb-on-the-interstellar-body-oumuamua-a-1246803.html">new interview</a> with the German magazine <em>Der Spiegel</em>, Loeb opened up further about his thoughts about the hunt for alien life — and what First Contact would mean for human civilization.</p>
<h2>Biggest Step</h2>
<p>If humankind were contacted by aliens, Loeb said, it could be the one of the most extraordinary incidents in human history.</p>
<p>&#8220;If you think about the history of humans, the perspective has changed as we have evolved — from a single individual to a family, a tribe, a country, and finally we even found other continents with people living there,&#8221; he told <em>Der Spiegel</em>. &#8220;If we were now to find other beings beyond planet Earth, this would be the biggest step ever.&#8221;</p>
<h2>First Contact</h2>
<p>What first contact would be like, Loeb said, is almost impossible to predict because of all the different ways that life could evolve outside of Earth.</p>
<p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t tell you what this moment will look like,&#8221; he said. &#8220;But it will be shocking. Because we are biased by our own experiences. We imagine other beings to be similar to us. But maybe they are radically different.&#8221;</p>
<h2>Favorite Alien</h2>
<p>But when <em>Der Spiegel </em>asked Loeb what he favorite fictional alien was, he demurred.</p>
<p>&#8220;To be honest, I don&#8217;t like science fiction personally,&#8221; he told the magazine. &#8220;I have a problem when the action in a movie violates the laws of physics. In those cases, I cannot enjoy the experience aesthetically.&#8221;</p>
<p><strong>READ MORE:</strong> <a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/astronomer-avi-loeb-on-the-interstellar-body-oumuamua-a-1246803.html">&#8216;Thinking About Distant Civilizations Isn&#8217;t Speculative&#8217;</a> [<em>Der Spiegel</em>]</p>
<p><em><strong>More on alien life: <a href="https://futurism.com/astronomers-gearing-listen-evidence-aliens-mysterious-interstellar-object">Astronomers Are Gearing Up to Listen for Evidence of Aliens from a Mysterious Interstellar Object</a></strong></em></p>


"If we were now to find other beings beyond planet Earth, this would be the biggest step ever."

Harvard astronomer predicts what first alien contact will be like

Aye LMAO

In a new interview, a Harvard astronomer opens up about the hunt for alien life — and what first alien contact would mean for human civilization.

/Avi Loeb

Aye LMAO

Harvard Astronomer Predicts What First Alien Contact Will Be Like

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